Broken Circle
by Sorna
Summary: Based on the short film Rings. Centers around Tim and Emily.


Disclaimer: _The Ring_,_Rings,_ and all characters belong to Dreamworks, not me.

A.N. This is based on the short film _Rings. _It was a dvd extra. (and it was better than the actual sequel, IMO, But I digress...) If you still have no idea what I'm talking about, see the links at the bottom.I originally wanted to make this a full story about what happenswhen Tim and Emily watch the tape. I had some really creepy sequences planned out, but haven't had time to write them. So for now, I'll leave this as a short character study, and if I have enough time and if people like it, I'll continue.

* * *

**_Broken Circle_**

Rain was once again drenching the small town of Astoria, Oregon. A common occurrence in a rather common town. But, only a few days earlier, something had happened that was anything but common. No one knew what to make of it. Only a few really knew the truth behind the incident. One of those few was a quiet, teenaged, boy named Tim. On this particular night, Tim lay wide awake on his bed, watching the rain droplets lazily splash against the skylight above him. He hardly moved, except to brush a strand of his shaggy, dark brown, hair away from his face. Dark circles surrounded his blood-shot, blue eyes, as it had been too hard to sleep for the past few nights, ever since 'The Incident' that the whole town was whispering about, the death of his classmate; Jake Pierce. It wasn't just the death itself that bothered Tim. It was the fact that he played a part in causing it. He cringed, remembering the day that he was sure would haunt him for years to come. The day Jake had come to his house, franticly pounding on the door.

"_Hey Tim!_ _Open up, man! It's you're turn, I made a copy. Come on, it's not even that scary, I promise!"_

"_Jake…I-I can't watch that tape, man"_

"_Dammit, Timmy, open the goddamn door!"_

"_Stop it!"_

"_OPEN THE DOOR, YOU SON OF A BITCH! LET ME IN! YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED YOU'D WATCH MY TAPE!" _

_Tim merely sunk to the ground as Jake pounded on the door behind him. Across the room, his friend Vanessa grinned cruelly. _

"_I told you, Timmy. We're finally gonna see a day seven."_

He had never wanted to do this, but didn't have a choice. An hour before Jake's arrival, Vanessa had called.

"_Hi Timmy! I just wanted to let you know there's been a slight change in plans."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Whatever you do, you can't watch Jake's copy. Look, I know how this is gonna sound, but…well, we're never gonna understand this thing unless we see what happens on day seven, and-" _

"_Are you insane! We can't just let someone die!"_

"_Ok, then!" Vanessa said nonchalantly. Then she muttered "your funeral…"_

"_What?"_

"_Let me put it this way, Timmy. We can watch his Day Seven, or…we can watch yours…" _

_Tim could hardly believe what he was hearing. Vanessa had been his friend since his freshman year, but she had become somewhat aloof ever since graduating a year ahead of him and entering Portland State University. After that, she always seemed to brush him off whenever he tried to call her. That is until one day, she convinced him to come to a party on campus and to join this "really cool underground group" known as the 'Rings.' _

"_Your call!" She taunted, and with a 'click,' she hung up._

Vanessa had been right. All she and her boyfriend Eddie, the 'Ring' leader of sorts, had to do was make a few phone calls and post a few messages on the community website and they could see to it that no one would help him when day seven rolled around. Undoubtedly, that's what they had done to Jake and what they would've done to _him_, had he watched Jake's copy. It almost scared Tim. He just couldn't understand why she was acting this way. Had the tape changed her somehow? What could have possibly been on that tape that would make her so obsessed? When they heard about Jake's death, Vanessa only scowled, disappointed that Jake hadn't left his camera on when he died.

"Is that all she cared about!" Tim thought angrily. Although, on the day they heard the news, Jake wasn't the only thing on his mind. After all, he hadn't known Jake very well. The person Tim _really_ worried about was someone he knew. Someone he had been friends with since elementary school. Someone who, unfortunately, just happened to be with Jake when he died. Tim's eyes fell upon the bookshelf not far from his bed and on the small, framed photo that sat on the second shelf. The photo featured two fourteen-year-olds making crazy faces at the camera. One of them was an eighth grade version of Tim. The other was a sandy haired, brown eyed, girl of the same age, who, at the time, was Tim's best friend: Emily. So much had changed since then. When they started high school, Tim hardly saw Emily anymore. She was always busy either spending time with her new friends, going to parties, study sessions, or play rehearsals, or indulging in one of her favorite hobbies; Chasing Jake Pierce. Emily's efforts didn't pay off though, as Jake never paid any attention to her. Tim found the whole situation annoying for two reasons: First, the fact that his best friend claimed to be too busy to see him, yet she had more than enough time for a boy who wanted nothing to do with her. And second, the fact that her infatuation led her to Jake's house that night. The news reports were vague, but Tim heard that the corpse had been a particularly gruesome sight. If Emily had seen what had happened to it, he wasn't sure she'd ever be the same again.

Tim sighed, rolling over to check his alarm clock. It was nearly two A.M. Deciding he was hungry, he got up, and walked down the hall toward the kitchen. After a snack of micro-waved, leftover pizza, he quietly headed back to his room. It was only after a few steps, he noticed the rug grow cold under his feet. Looking down, he saw that the whole carpet was soaked.

"Aw, shit." He thought. "The shower must've flooded again. Oh well, I'll tell Dad in the morning."

He pushed open the door to his room…and what he saw made him freeze in terror. A pair of glowing, blue eyes peered out at him from the darkness. The eyes were deep set in a face that was so rotted and twisted, that it was hardly recognizable. But Tim knew exactly whose it was.

"Jake…"

Jake lunged at Tim, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him against the wall. He glared as Tim struggled in vain to get free. The cold, rotting fingers tightened around his neck as Jake, with an icy fury in his voice, screamed

"**YOU PROMISED!**"

**0000000**

Tim's eyes flew open. His gaze darted around the room. Much to his relief, it was empty.

About an hour later, Tim had just sat down to breakfast when the doorbell rang. He went to answer it. Looking though the peep-hole, he easily identified the black haired, provocatively dressed figure as Vanessa. She uncomfortably shifted from one foot to another. Her sharp, dark eyes restlessly surveyed the front porch. As soon as Tim opened the door, she greeted him with a smile as plastic as the cheap bangle bracelets she was wearing.

"Hey, Timmy!" she said in a psudo-friendly, sing-song voice. "What's up?" Tim, however, knew better than to buy her act.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly.

Vanessa dropped the fake cheery attitude. Her eyes narrowed.

"Good God" she sneered. "Who pissed in _your_ Capitan Crunch this morning?" She reached into the bag she had slung around her shoulder. "Actually, I wanted to give you these." She pulled out a digital camcorder, some mini tapes, and a folder stuffed with papers.

"What's this?" Tim asked as Vanessa handed the objects to him.

"They're Jake's tape diaries. It's everything he saw after he watched it. His footage…his drawings…You can look through them if you want." She reached into her bag again and pulled out a plain, black VHS tape and handed it to Tim. "Then, if you wanted see for yourself…"

Tim stared at the tape. He had a good hunch as to what it was, but he asked anyway. "Is this…." His sentence trailed off.

'Yeah" Vanessa whispered. She turned around and set off down the stone steps, down the street, and out of sight.

Back inside the house, Tim stuffed the camera and tapes into his book bag. He opened the folder and began to flip though the drawings. A burning tree, horse flies, a mirror, a horse rearing up on the edge of a cliff, a well, various circles and spirals, and other ominous images had been sketched on every page. Illegible words were also scrawled across the pages. As Tim got closer to the bottom of the stack, the handwriting grew more frantic and the lines grew more and more jagged. The last drawings depicted a figure dressed in white with long, stringy, black hair scribbled on top of it's face. He recognized most of the images. They were featured in every piece of artwork that decorated the group's meeting place, the basement of the Tri-Delta house at PSU. Tim closed the folder and put it in the bag with the rest of items. He then slipped the book bag onto his back and left for school.

**0000000 **

The hazy sunlight streamed in through the tinted windows, casting a soft, bluish green glow through the halls of Astoria High School, as Emily trudged down the crowded corridor. Her half open eyes focused wearily ahead. She guessed that she must've looked like some sort of zombie, but she didn't care. She noticed people on either side of the row of lockers turn to look at her, then quickly turn back to whisper something to their friends. But, Emily remained unfazed. She had prepared herself for all the whispering and all the 'that's _her_' looks. She opened her locker, shoving in an armful of books. So far, her first day back at school had been dismal. Aside form all the strange looks she got from people, her friends were nowhere to be found. She had seen them at the beginning of the day, but they just walked away as she approached them. They had most likely heard the lurid rumors about what happened the night Jake had died. Emily bit her lip, thinking about just how innocently it had started, when she heard Jake's voice on her answering machine.

"_Hey, uh, Emily, I-it's Jake… y'know, from school? Anyway, I don't know if you've got plans tonight, but I'd really like to get to know you better and, um…" _

_Emily could hardly believe it. Jake Pierce had actually called her. Trying hard to contain her excitement, she raced to pick up the phone._

"_Jake?" she asked timidly. "Are you asking me out?" _

"_All I'm asking is for a little bit of your time" he replied, somewhat nervously. _

_Emily was ecstatic. She rushed over to Jake's house, imagining that this would be the best night of her life. Little did she know, Jake's intentions weren't as pure as they seemed._

"_I wanna show you something" he said._

"_What?"_

"_Have you ever seen something so scary, you just had to show someone else? Like, a movie or something." _

_Emily stared at him blankly. "Ummm…"_

"_Ok" Jake explained. "I've got the scariest freaking movie you'll ever see. A buddy of mine actually turned me on to it. And, he made me a copy, so I made one for you." He reached over and grabbed a blank VHS tape from the side table._

"_You brought me here to watch a video?" Emily asked, somewhat disappointed._

"_Two minutes, Ok? Then it'll all be over. It's really underground stuff!"_

"_I thought we were just gonna…" She gestured towards the sofa. _

"_Oh, we will, we will" he assured her. "You've just gotta see this first. I'm telling you it's-"_

"_How about after we-"_

"_No!" he said forcefully. "You have to watch it now!"_

_Emily froze, momentarily startled by the harshness of his voice. Sensing her anxiety, Jake clamed down a little._

"_Ok?" he said, handing Emily the tape _

"_What's so scary about it?" she asked._

_Jake leaned forward and kissed her. "You'll see." He then got up and left the room._

"_Okaaaaay…Riiiiiiight…" Emily mused. "All this fuss over a tape? What's up with him?" She popped the tape into the VCR, returned to the couch and hit 'Play' on the remote. The tape started. Emily stared at the TV curiously for a few seconds, until the image of a box of severed fingers appeared on the screen._

"_Oh, God" Emily winced, burying her face in her hands. She hated movies with blood and gore, and she wasn't about to take any chances with this one. Sounds of a high-pitched whine, emanated from the television, Emily didn't dare look up again until she heard the sound of static. Jake burst into the room._

"_Emily! What the hell did you do!"_

"_I played it, I just didn't look!"_

_Jake swallowed hard, as the color drained from his face. Eyes widened in terror, he turned to face the TV. Emily couldn't remember much of what happened after this point. She vaguely recalled that the television screen seemed to take on a life of it's own. She also sensed another person's presence in the room along with her and Jake. Emily screamed and ran from the room, down the hall. She opened the first door she could find, which happened to lead to the basement. She fled down the stairs and darted behind a stack of cardboard boxes. Emily heard Jake scream from upstairs. She hugged her knees to her chest. And rocking back and forth, she began to sob. _

**0000000 **

At around noon, Tim set out to the courtyard for lunch. The tables and benches were soaked from the morning's thunderstorm and fog seemed to be rising from the equally drenched concrete. However, the courtyard was alive with the sounds of laughing and conversation, as quite a few people had decided to sit outside anyway. Tim made his way to the far end of the courtyard, toward the rusty table in back corner, which was usually left vacant. He didn't mind sitting alone. It gave him the rare opportunity for some peace and quiet, away form the inane chatter of the student body. But today it seemed, as he neared the table, that someone else had seen the wisdom in this logic. Emily sat alone at the back table, staring downward at her lunch. She didn't move to eat, or to do anything for that matter. She looked rather pale and sullen with dark circles under her eyes, and her lips curled into a frown. Because she looked so preoccupied, Tim debated whether he should approach her or not. It was strange to see her like this. Tim was used to seeing her sitting at one of the center tables with a dazzling smile stretched across her face, as she conversed with her twenty-some friends. Finally deciding to talk to her, Tim walked over to the table.

"Hello, stranger"

Emily looked up. "Tim! Hey! Long time no see!" Her voice was a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Mind if I sit down?" Tim asked.

"No, go ahead."

He took a seat across from her and set his book bag down on the table. "So…Where'd your friends go?"

"I don't know" Emily said quietly." "They wouldn't talk to me."

"Why not?"

"Not sure, but from what I've heard, they must think I sabotaged Jake's TV so he'd get electrocuted, or something."

Tim smirked. "_Did_ you?" he asked playfully. Emily rolled her eyes. "Kidding! I'm kidding!" Tim reassured her. "Don't worry. I've heard a lot of stupid conspiracy theories flying around. It's all a load of crap! I mean, Jake was a little full of himself, but that's hardly a reason to kill the guy." Though at that very moment, Tim was thinking just the opposite. He had always carried somewhat of an irrational grudge against Jake. (Mainly, because Emily adored him so much) Tim knew that this sort of thing was just childish jealousy and that he shouldn't let it get to him, but he couldn't help it. Hard as he tried to shake it off, a small part of him was secretly almost glad that Jake was gone.

"You knew Jake?" Emily asked, breaking Tim's train of thought.

"Yeah, I met him at this party at PSU."

"How'd you get invited to a _college_ party?"

"Easy" Tim said casually. "Jake and I were part of an underground cult in the frat-house basement." Emily snorted. The snort turned into a giggle and eventually, for the first time that day, a laugh broke through Emily's sullen, mopey exterior. "Yeah, it's fun" Tim continued. "So long as you don't drink the purple Kool-Aid…"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Emily said. "These little 'underground' subculture things have been popping up all over the place."

"Yeah" Tim replied. "Those things _have_ become sorta trendy lately. But, I wouldn't say they're all _cults_…" Then, with a wry smile, he added. "Unless, of course they did the whole door-to-door recruitment thing…" In a mock-serious, high pitched voice, Tim did his impersonation of a recruiter. "You must choose a side! We are more hard-core than ALL of you! And our favorite band is more obscure than yours!"

"Well, our freaky, experimental, recruitment video is weirder than yours!" Emily countered, playing along.

The smile suddenly dropped from Tim's face. "_Oh shit! How does she know?"_ he thought. "V-video?" Tim asked, panic rising in his voice. "Where did you-"

"Oh" Emily interrupted. "Jake…he had this tape…that night…he kept insisting that I watch it. He said it was 'cutting edge, underground stuff' or something."

"Did you watch it!"

"No, it got kinda gross, so I covered my eyes…"

"But, what happened! Did Jake-"

"Is _that_ what you came over here to ask me!" Emily demanded.

"What!" Tim asked, caught off guard by Emily's outburst.

"Everyone's been just dyin' know! Did somebody send you over find out?"

"No! Of course not! I just-"

"Look, between my parents, Jake's parents, the cops, the shrink, and the guidance counselor, I've had enough of the interrogations, ok!"

"I'm sorry" Tim muttered.

"Besides" Emily whispered as she turned back to her food. "I don't remember much anyway…"

"_Great. Nice going!"_ Tim thought, mentally kicking himself for bringing up such a sore subject. He desperately tried think of a way to win back Emily's approval. Then, an idea hit him. He reached into his book bag and pulled out an old, worn shoebox. Emily looked up.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Art homework" Tim replied, opening the box. Inside was a large pile of photos. "We had to do a photo collage." He pulled out a snapshot from the top of the stack and handed it to Emily. "Remember that eighth grade field trip when we went to Cannon Beach?" Emily stared at the picture. A very unhappy looking, fourteen-year-old Tim stared back at her. A runny, slimy, white substance seemed to be caught in his hair. Emily covered her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle. (exactly the outcome Tim had hoped for)

"Oh yeah! That was when that seagull took a dump on your head!"

"And you just _had_ to whip out your camera." Tim said, pretending to be offended.

"Oh, come on! It was so classic!" Emily laughed even harder. Tim smiled, basking in the sound. "Hey, can I see the rest of those?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, sure" Tim grabbed the box and reached out to give it to Emily, accidentally knocking his open back pack off the table in the process. The papers from Jake's folder scattered all over the pavement. "Crap" he muttered, kneeling down to retrieve the fallen pages. Emily reached down and picked up a few of the papers that had landed near her. She gazed at the strange drawings, but wasn't able to get a good look before Tim quickly snatched them out of her hands.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Just another art project" Tim said hastily, stuffing the papers back into his book bag. Emily looked at him curiously, a part of her wondering what he was hiding. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The sounds of groaning and murmured goodbyes filled the courtyard.

"Well, I'd better be going." Emily said, gathering her belongings. "Senor Franklin always makes us wear that stupid sombrero if we're late."

Tim stared at her. There were a lot of things he wanted tell her, things he had wanted tell her for quite some time now. But all he could manage was a "See you around" before he turned away.

"Wait!" Emily called out. Tim turned back to face her. "Thanks, Tim" she said softly.

Tim looked puzzled. "For what?"

"Everyone's sorta been avoiding me lately and, well…its nice to talk to someone…you know, to get my mind off things…"

"W-we could do this again sometime" Tim suggested, trying to hide his nervousness. "I mean, hang out or something"

Emily grinned. "I'd like that. Meet me out front after school, ok?"

"Ok, sure." Tim said. Emily turned and made her way out of the courtyard. Tim stayed behind, hardly believing what just happened. He held on to the mental picture of Emily's face lighting up when she smiled at him. One of those things he had wanted to tell her was how much he liked the way she smiled. Not long ago, it seemed he'd never get a chance to tell Emily much of anything. Now, he had all the time in the world.

"_Now that Jake's gone…"_ a nasty voice inside him hissed. Tim shuddered and stared down at the incriminating tapes and papers in his book bag.

**0000000**

Later, between classes, Tim slipped into the narrow alleyway on the side of the building. Ducking behind the dumpsters, he found the small hatch on the wall labeled: _Incinerator_. Pulling the tapes and drawings from his book bag, Tim thought back on what he had told Emily at lunch. He knew he sounded like a huge hypocrite, bashing those 'Underground groups' when he himself had secretly been a part of one. (especially the one that had inadvertently caused Emily so much misery) But, then again, it felt good to vent his anger. He also knew that if she ever found out what actually happened, he'd lose her for good.

"She's not going to find out" he muttered to himself as he opened the hatch. He took one last look at the folder and the drawings before dumping them into the incinerator. Next he threw in the mini tapes. Then, finally, he picked up the unmarked VHS tape. He gazed at it, reverently. He still couldn't believe something so simple could cause so much chaos. After a few seconds, he tossed it down the chute with everything else and closed the hatch. Destroying those things should have made him feel better, but somehow, it didn't. Hearing the bell ring, Tim hurried back into the building.

"_Its over. Its over."_ He thought. But unfortunately for both him _and_ Emily, he was wrong.

* * *

A.N. That's where I must leave you for now. Ok, If you've never heard of _Rings_, Here are a few links:

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